Howard Johnson by Wyndham Traverse City — Hotel in Traverse City

The place sucked, and worst of all, the staff kept giving excuses about being under new management.

PROS: Not much other than central location. This place is a Howard Johnsons, but like one of the room maids said, "the place was built in the 1940s, and all they've done is paint ... lipstick on a pig". Looking at the beat-up furniture, swayback beds, and layers of paint, I believe it.

CONS: Upon arrival, two of us used the bathroom toilet to urinate only after the long drive up and the toilet backed up and then onto the floor. They came with plunger, but toilet continued to backup up. Left us a plunger to deal with it ourselves. They continued to say that they are under new management, and the system had been rodded out due to tree roots, but as a multi-complex multi-unit rental property owner, this was a local problem in the system. The first evening of our stay (lower 30's in evening) we discovered the "new" HVAC unit didn't work. They had to send property maintenance personnel to try to fix. Both people sent, had no idea, but eventually it started blowing warm air. When my wife started unpacking she discovered a dresser drawer full of the previous guest's clothes (says a lot about the cleaning crew). Upon trying to plug our phones and computers in, we found only one plug available. Wall plugs were loaded with power strips and everything else in the room plugged into one outlet like on Christmas Story. Lamp fixtures, which were supposed to be the plugin options had broken switches and broken sockets with exposed connectors and plugs that did work. Again they claimed that they are under new management and replacement lamps are on backorder. The furniture in the room was severely beat up with chunks of veneer missing all along the edges of tops. It looked like garage sale furniture.

The front clerk promised she'd move us into the room next door, which she thought might be a little bit better, and set it up in the system with notes, and we'd be able to move to the new room later that afternoon, after the current occupants checked out. She also promised to have the manager contact me about a credit to my account. So i agreed. That following afternoon, I stopped at the front desk to pickup the new key cards. As the same desk clerk checked her system, she found that her manager had completely overwritten her work and given the room to another guest. The only room available was on the second floor at the far end of the motel, and there are no elevators. (note to anyone that doesn't do stairs well, or is elderly, or has large suitcases, there are no elevators and the stairs are open to the weather.) So we moved all of our things up the stairs and down and around the balconies to the far end to the new room on the second floor. The new room was not much better, with sway back worn mattresses and beat up furniture.

The next two morning's continental breakfasts was all cold packaged crap, including gross soggy hard-boiled eggs in plastic two pack bags. Monday morning's breakfast offering had almost nothing to eat, as they, again, stated that they are under new management and someone didn't order restock of breakfast foods. The clerk also continued to promise that she had left notes in the system for the manager to contact us about making an adjustment to the billing (especially given the fact that they charge much higher weekend rates for the rooms (over 2x the week day rate), and I had paid a premium for the opportunity to stay in that dump; freezing our behinds off while manned with a toilet plunger).

To this day, still no contact from...

From a recent vacation: I stayed here at the start of October. Yes, when it rained for about a week. So while I can't comment about some things, I will about everything else.

The location from TVC Airport is maybe 10-15 minutes depending on the direction you take. It places you just down the street from the NMC campus, a short drive to downtown Traverse City, and a little further to the Grand Traverse Mall with surrounding fun. Quaint little area compared to what I'm used to, but still looks like there is a good amount to do for a tourist. One of the best tips I got from the hotel staff, as the point of my trip was to see some nature and good views, was to take a turn down Peninsula Drive, and just keep going. And I did. And i loved it. All the water, all the trees, the vineyards and farms, and a drive that defines "Scenic". Sunsets are amazing on that drive.

Back to the hotel. Great and friendly staff. Never had a bad experience with them. Building is a very common two-tier all-outside access. Plenty of parking. Rooms were pretty nice. I had a King bed, so the room came with a desk and chair combo, and a recliner. Good sized TV with plenty of channels for a guy who just needed to see Kavanaugh confirmed to the SCOTUS. AC/Heat next to the window that worked WELL (i like to sleep in the freezer). There wasn't a closet, but there was a hanging bar for your clothes, beside the large dresser drawers. Vanity area with the sink and coffee maker was outside the bathroom door. Sink's aerator seemed clogged because the water would blast everywhere when turned wrong. Bathroom seemed small, but that was because the shower was GIANT. Great water pressure too. Nice and hot. My complaint here is...maybe geographic. I'm use to a soft comfy bed and pillowy pillows. The pillows were great, but that bed was hard as a rock. Maybe people from these parts like their beds stiff. I don't. I woke up still on more than one morning. Also, didn't seem like the turn down service came by every day. Maybe I was just there too often when they came by.

Breakfast is included, which was huge for me. It's a good little Continental...Coffee, Juice, Oatmeal, Cereal, Yogurt, Bagels, Muffins, and Doughnut Holes. Good start every morning.

So overall, great place, and great location. Few issues with the room, but a solid score...

I would NOT recommend ever attempting to stay at the Howard Johnson in Traverse City. We arrived about 30 minutes after check in started for the day. We were told our room was not read but would be in about 45 minutes. The front desk employee (Heather) asked for my phone number and told me she would call me when the room was ready. We left the hotel and after an hour of waiting I decided to call and see if our room was ready. Heather tells me our room is ready now but she was too busy to call and tell us. We drive back to the hotel and get there in less than 5 minutes after speaking with Heather. We wait in line while she tells other customers that they are about 25 rooms behind in cleaning and that this is a regular issue that happens just about everyday because they do not have enough staff for the amount of guests they regularly have. When only one couple is left in line in front of us she tells them that their room also isn’t ready. The couple complain stating that she told them over an hour ago that their room was almost ready. Heather then tells them that she made a mistake and their room is actually ready and checks them in. When it’s our turn I give her my name and reminded her that we just spoke on the phone and were told our room was ready. Heather then tells me that she was wrong and the room is not ready. As you probably guessed Heather gave our room to the couple in front of us in line because they had complained! Heather did admit to giving our room away as well. We asked how long it would take for us to get into our room now and she told us she didn’t know. She refused to cancel our reservation, allow us to speak to a manager, and would not give us any time line about when we might be able to get into our room. She was rude and unhelpful to not only us but multiple other guests that also just wanted to check into the rooms they already paid for. Overall, I would recommend avoiding this hotel at all cost especially if you are trying to keep any type of schedule as they will not allow you to check in for several hours after check in time. Terrible hotel with...